North Carolina regulators on Friday approved a solar+storage microgrid project proposed by Duke Energy, designed to help maintain reliable power for a small town called Hot Springs in the western part of the state. The project includes a 2 MW solar array and 4 MW lithium-ion battery, and will be Duke's first utility-scale solar+storage project for residential customers. The microgrid is a small part of Duke's broader plan to roll out more storage on its system.